Charming

I was sitting with Katie on the floor the other day. Katie tends to ignore me, unless she wants to use me as a human climbing wall. I pulled out my cell phone to make a call, and she heard the click of the phone opening. Before I could start dialing, she had crawled over to me, and started trying to convince me to give her that phone. She gave me a very charming smile, opened and closed her hands repeatedly, (gimme, gimme), and was climbing onto my lap so she could be closer to the phone. She certainly knows which smile and moves will get her what she wants. I will have you know I was strong, and didn't give in to her. Ryan and I didn't want her playing with phones, because they are expensive, and they can bother people if she presses redial, or the speed dial. Imagine my surprise when I came home yesterday, and Katie has the house phone on her blanket! Ryan thought it was cute how she played with the buttons and liked the noises. I guess the off-the-hook tone was her favorite. Apparently that rule has been revised a little. :)
When climbing, (on me, the couch, blankets, etc.) she has an extra advantage. She uses her mouth as a stabilizing "hand". She will grab above her with both hands, and if she can't pull herself up, she will use her mouth to gain extra leverage. Now my couch has little wet marks from her mouth all over it.

What to say?

I have neglected writing any posts thus far because I feel that anything I write needs to be profound, funny, and interesting. Well, if I try to set those standards for myself, I don't think anything will be written.
So..., the reason I started this blog is to let family and friends see what Katie is up to. I will perhaps put updates on Ryan and I, but Katie is my life at this point.
She is so much fun! Yesterday Ryan was saying Goodbye to her, and she waved back and said, "Ba Ba Da." Now, I understand this could be a fluke, but how exciting!
She is entertaining herself more and more. She tends to follow me around the house as I am going about my day. If I am not in view, she starts to whine a little, but that is nothing compared to the full out scream she would project if she was put down at all before she could crawl.
Santaquin got about 5-6 inches of snow on Monday. It has been melting off, but it takes time. Yesterday it was so sunny and pretty outside. Katie and I went onto our front sidewalk and played in the snow for a couple of minutes. I set her on the sidewalk, and she leaned over and felt the snow. Her first reaction was to pull away, then she wanted it in her mouth, and then she just couldn't get enough. We finally stopped when her little fingers started getting pink. She then crawled over to the flowerbed and discovered dirt. My life is going to involve a lot more laundry once spring and summer are here. She had that dirt in her mouth, on her pants and her shirt before I could get it off her hands!
I think we will be outside a lot once it gets warmer. Katie always smiles when I open the blinds or the door. A day or two ago she started crying after I shut the front door. That is why we went outside yesterday. Now if I could just keep her out of the mud...

Katie is mobile!

That's right. She is crawling. Katie loves being able to move around and follow Ryan or I wherever we go. She is also trying to pull herself up to a standing position on anything she sees. Tables, chairs, pant legs, blankets, etc. It is really fun to watch her learn and grow.